Purple at The Stillery

Purple played at The Stillery Camden last night to an almost full venue, with a little room to get wild if the music inspired you – a solid turnout for a Tuesday night and a surprisingly varied audience. The Stillery is part of the Old Blue Last and Birthdays family from East London, so basically those who know their music and are well-known for showcasing new talent that’s fresh, innovative and just having a damn good time.

Nothing better describes Purple, a simple set up of Taylor Busby on guitar/vocals, Hanna Brewer on drums/vocals and Joe “Prankser” Cannariato on bass guitar. Even just the set up of having a female drummer creates an unusual and interesting dynamic onstage, their energy tangible. It wasn’t as though any party stole the limelight, or that there were any gimmicks, just three mates having the best time together.

This is mirrored in the fact that there is little cohesion in their appearance. Busby in jeans and snapback, Brewer looking like maybe what Ke$ha is trying to achieve and Cannariato with chilled grungy swag. They don’t look polished or put together, but that they are bringing their own style and influences to the board and this is evident in their music. What comes through is how melodic they have managed to make their pop punk sound. It’s not just someone shouting at you down a mike, you can actually see their raw vocal abilities and its pretty impressive to be able to sustain that through a whole set.

Purple seem to be having the time of their life, and it’s great to see people onstage who are loving what they do, and having a great time that translates to the audience. Their punctuality is also commendable, when was the last time you went to a gig and the band actually started bang on time?!

If there are any critiques, it was that the set was a little brief: this perhaps shows that they’re still developing their sound, performance and building up their repertoire. You will always be guaranteed a fun time with this lot, even if it’s not your thing.